"It's fantastic, truly. We are making an amazing film, and we're having a wonderful time," he told PA.

"It's so exciting to have established characters and an established setting in the world, and we are working so hard to cook up something new.

"That is what is exciting me - taking what we know, taking what we love and deepening it and giving it an extra dimension. I think director Alan Taylor is really shaping up the world of Asgard and the world of these characters."

Hiddleston previous played the God of Mischief in Thor and Joss Whedon's 2012 summer blockbuster The Avengers.